EXHIBITION: 'APRIL' PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW
Venue: The Back Room, Zhongshan building, KL
Date: April 11 to May 3
It’s a first for The Back Room gallery in KL to host a photography group show. Opening this Saturday, April features new works by emerging Malaysian contemporary photographers Alvin Lau, Amani Azlin and Nadirah Zakariya.
"With motifs of fleeting youth, the precarity of time, and the abundantly incidental beauty of nature, the photographs in April express a mood of calm, quiet contemplation," reads the exhibition notes.
All three KL-based photographers are established in their respective image-making fields, which run parallel to the art world.
Professional photography is often busy, leaving little time to experience images at a human scale — larger than a phone screen.
April invites viewers to slow down, to gaze rather than scroll, to encounter photographs you can own rather than merely like, and to carry with you moments of quiet reflection amid the daily flood of images.
In this show, Lau turns from urban textures to the natural world, Amani presents diaristic shots from her travels and shoots, and Nadirah returns with new explorations of womanhood after last year’s Back Room exhibition.
An opening reception will be held on Saturday from 3pm- 7pm.
More info here.
CONCERT: 'Mum Live In Kuala Lumpur'
Venue: Live Fact, Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya
Date: April 10, 8pm
Icelandic acts were rare in Malaysia until Sigur Ros played at Urbanscapes 2012. This year sees Laufey returning to KL, while Reykjavík art-pop band mum makes its Malaysian debut at indie arts venue Live Fact in Petaling Jaya this Friday.
Known for its curiosity-driven take on electronic music, mum (pronounced "moom") offers a distinctly immersive stage presence – soft, airy vocals weaving through glitchy beats, experimental sampling, and ethereal textures created with both traditional and unconventional instruments.
The band gained acclaim in the early 2000s with electronic-folk releases, most notably Finally We Are No One (2002), alongside Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK (1999) and Summer Make Good (2004). Warm, playful, and tinged with nostalgia, each album crafts a unique sonic world.
After a 12-year hiatus, mum returned last year with its seventh studio album, History Of Silence, continuing its legacy of inventive, emotionally evocative music.
A must-see for indie pop fans and anyone drawn to adventurous, genre-blurring sounds, this concert is presented by indie label Soundscape Records.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: ALYA HATTA’S 'THE AFTERLIFE OF ORDINARY THINGS'
Venue: Galeri Sasha, Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI), Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends May 3
At Galeri Sasha, Alya Hatta's The Afterlife Of Ordinary Things centres on a single, specific moment: a family barbecue in Malaysia in December 2025. For the emerging artist, who divides her time between London and Kuala Lumpur, the work is deeply personal, reflecting the experience of living between cultures.
Drawing on elements from both environments, she constructs imagined landscapes that mirror a sense of belonging across multiple places. Alya's paintings unfold in layers, echoing the way memory accumulates – fragments of everyday life assembled into spaces that feel at once familiar and distinct.
Working from snapshots taken that evening, the British-trained artist captures small, candid moments – a shared joke, a quiet pause – that shape the informal choreography of a family gathering. Rather than grand portraiture, she focuses on these ordinary scenes to reveal the emotional weight contained within a single event.
Her process is further defined by an interest in how surfaces and images shift over time, informed by the gradual wear and tear observed during her daily commutes.
Admission is free. Galeri Sasha is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: 'TIMELESS ART LEGACY - SIM TIAK CHOO COLLECTION'
Venue: Auditorium 4F, Wisma Kebudayaan SGM, Jalan Bukit Bintang, KL
Date: April 11 to June 28
Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM) Harmoni Soka Arts & Culture presents its annual exhibition, Timeless Art Legacy – Artworks Donated by Sim Tiak Choo, from April 11 to June 28, in collaboration with City Art Gallery and the Malaysia International Culture & Arts Promotion Association. The show, which opens this Saturday, features treasured works donated by Datuk Sim Tiak Choo and Datin Tang over 23 years, from 2002 to 2025.
The 160-strong collection brings together works by pioneering Malaysian and Singaporean artists - Lee Kian Yew, Chen Jen Hao, Chung Cheng Sun, Chang Nai Tung, and Liu Kang - alongside pieces from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, including Zhang Daqian, Liu Haisu, Yu Youren, Wu Zuoren, Wu Guanzhong, Yang Shanshen, and Lee Chi-mao. Together, they chart a vibrant artistic landscape, where cross-regional exchange and layered cultural influences converge, revealing how local and broader East Asian traditions have shaped a dynamic, interconnected visual heritage.
The exhibition is divided into three sections: "Maestros · Relations", highlighting creative masterpieces and cultural bonds; "Nanyang Horizons", exploring the context and spirit of Malaysian and Singaporean art; and "Artistic Expressions Across the Chinese World", engaging with the diverse artistic landscapes of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Free admission exhibition.
More info here.
CONCERT: 'THE MPO AND BELLE SISOSKI: ETHNOSPHERE'
Venue: Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS, KL
Date: April 11, 8pm
Stepping beyond its classical comfort zone, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra opens the door to new sonic territory at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS this Saturday.
In Ethnosphere, the MPO collaborates with Belle Sisoski, a Sarawak-born multi-instrumentalist and multi-octave vocalist whose practice bridges tradition and experimentation.
The programme folds South-East Asian ethnic instruments into electronic textures and cinematic orchestration, expanding the orchestra’s palette in an immersive live setting.
Also the title of Belle’s debut album, Ethnosphere sees her take on various traditional Malaysian instruments on stage, weaving them into the full orchestral fabric.
The show will feature new original material by Belle, alongside Mason Bates’ Mothership, Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer’s He’s A Pirate, and Bach’s Toccata And Fugue In D Minor.
Under the baton of Gerard Salonga, the one-night concert reimagines cultural soundscapes — a meeting point of heritage, collaboration and bold, exploratory sound.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: 'ARCHITECTURE OF DEVOTION: TEMPLES IN THE INDIAN DIASPORA'
Venue: Project Room, Level 4, UR-MU @ The Toffee, Jalan Raja Chulan, KL
Date: ends April 29
If you’re curious about history, architecture and Indian culture, then this exhibition is one you won’t want to miss. Through art, it highlights the journey of the Indian diaspora’s legacy in Malaysia and beyond, offering profound insights into the architectural philosophies of its designs.
Architecture Of Devotion, which runs through April 29, features 164 artworks that document the spiritual and architectural grandeur of Indian temples in the region and beyond. The line-up of 16 Malaysian artists includes Dr S. Chanthiran, Datuk Chong Hon Fatt, Hasnee Abdul Rahman, Jeganathan R, Kelvin Chap Kok Leong, Lai Loong Sung, Lee Weng Fatt, Long Thien Shih, Maamor Jantan, Nirmala Karuppiah, Peter Liew, Pheh It Hao, Soh Chee Hui, Stephen Menon, Tham Siew Inn and Victor Chin.
Curated by Emeritus Professor Dr Krishna Gopal Rampal and Kamla Rampal, the exhibition – drawn from their celebrated collection – unfolds as a visual narrative of devotion and its sacred spaces.Through a diverse range of artistic interpretations, the exhibition highlights the intricate details and symbolic power of sacred structures that have shaped communities worldwide.
Admission is included with a museum ticket to Ur-Mu @ The Toffee. Exhibition is closed on Mondays.
More info here.
